Grüne Erde
The name of this furniture series, that destilat developed for the traditional Austrian company Grüne Erde, comes from the stylised Japanese hemp leaf pattern of the same name.
The Asanoha series follows the hugely successful Ryokan series of Grüne Erde, which strongly incorporated the DNA of Grüne Erde: environmental sustainability and responsibility – by now, however, with a slightly outdated visual style. The new series had to correspond with these fundamental values of Grüne Erde but use a design language that appeals to new groups of consumers without frightening off the traditional customer base.
The references to Japanese traditions and philosophies were adopted from the Ryokan concept.
The symbol of Ryokan’s idea was a typical Japanese plug connection, but for Asanoha the Japanese references were constructively associated in a slightly broader sense.
The idea for the closet and the bed was to bring a constructively necessary frame construction visibly to the outside and allow for toolless assembly and disassembly due to sophisticated, metal-free plug connections. This method references traditional Japanese craftsmanship and philosophy.
The formal structure, consisting of an external frame construction and a slid-in corpus, is additionally emphasized by using two different types of wood. Only uncoloured woods were used due to Grüne Erde’s strict standards. Therefore bright, knot-free ash wood was chosen for the frame and dark oak for the corpus.
The Asanoha pattern was milled into the wood surfaces and used as a woven fabric pattern to create an additional formal Japanese reference.
A bedside table was also designed, in addition to the closet and the bed. The Asanoha line will be expanded with a dresser in its next development stage.
Status: Built
Location: Austria
Firm Role: designer
Additional Credits: manufacturer Grüne Erde
